The present invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition or a functional health food containing a verbenone derivative and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof as active ingredients for treating or preventing a neurodegenerative disease. More specifically, the verbenone derivative according to the present invention reduces nerve cell death and oxidative stress, and is highly effective in preventing ischemic brain damage and inflammatory cell migration in rats, thereby providing the pharmaceutical composition or the functional health food which is useful in treating neurodegenerative diseases.